Death Note: The Future's Path
by BrixtaSparks
Summary: The sequel to Death Note: Link to the Past. Following the stories of Near and Mello.


Sitting on the floor, the pieces of the puzzle were silently put in their places, the boy, handling each piece with more care than was necessary, began to see the whole picture within the puzzle, before it was even completed. His light gray eyes, though it was a wonder that they weren't pink, because everything about him just spelled out A-L-B-I-N-O, never strayed from his puzzle, not even when he'd reach for a new piece to add to the now nearly finished product. His milky white skin, as a ray of the morning sun struck it through the window, became bleached out. And his hair, white as could be, curled up in several spots on his head.

Finally placing the last piece of the puzzle, which in the end had very little detail to it, all that it was, was a blank white puzzle with a light gray "L" in the upper left corner, drew his right knee to his chest, while his left leg rested somewhat to the side, with his bare foot pointing away from his body. He sat and stared down at the white puzzle, but only for a split second, then reached out, carefully took hold of it, flipped it over, then watched as the pieces fell to the floor, where they landed with a soft clack. He pushed the pieces back to one side, set the puzzle back down and started to put it back together, quietly, so very quietly whispering as he did so.

"L's gone...Watari's gone...Leaving only Mello and myself to deal with this Kira. If we're going to win against this murderer, then Mello will have to agree to work along side me. That'll be the only way for either of us to even consider becoming L's successor..." Already, nearly half of the puzzle was done, the boy had memorized it by heart, and knew instantly which piece belonged where. "I've never been afraid to work together, in fact, I've often wanted it to be that way...what's the fun in being the only player in a game meant for two people?"

With his left hand, he began to twirl his hair around his index finger, maybe this was the cause of the random bits of curliness throughout his hair, but twisting it as tightly as he could stand, he slowly began to release it, showing that a new curl had been born into the world. He gave a slight grin as he felt the strand of hair bounce a little, then sighed, when all too soon, it fell limp as the rest of the curls, gently lying against the top of his ear.

For the tenth time that day alone, the puzzle had been completed, and he was growing bored of the same motions on repeat. He felt that it was maybe time to ask Roger for a new toy to play with, possibly a robot with all of the flashy attachments, missiles that would shoot out of its arms at the push of a button, maybe even voice activated commands.

He wanted a new toy, and he wanted it to be good.

Smiling as he took a mental shopping spree within the world's largest toy store, another boy walked into the room, his shoulder length blond hair sculpting his face, making him appear less intimidating than he actually was. His almond shaped green eyes glaring disdainfully at the younger, smaller more fragile boy in front of him.

Yet he'd been the one chosen to go and get him...out of everyone at Wammy's Orphanage...why did he have to be picked?

He fought against the urge to pummel, to beat the crap out of the boy. The only thing that even so much as stopped him was the thought of L...how would he feel if he knew that a potiential successor of his had acted out that way?

He wanted to honor his predecessor's dying name...even if no one else was...only because there had been two contenders picked out from all of the orphans, so there would be a new L soon enough to take the spot, and the name.

Slowly, after he had controlled his anger, he took another small step inside the room, very casually saying when he was just a little under five feet away from his target, "Near, come on...it's time..."

Near pulled out of his fantasy, and was all business again, his fingers back in his hair, twirling away, like he had nothing better to do. "Hello, Mello. Was that, it's time, you said?" As much as he liked Mello, he put up a great act showing that he felt otherwise. He saw the blond teen as being the older brother that he'd never had, and just as any sibling would, he'd deny within a second that that's how he truly felt.

Easily ignoring the question, Mello quickly whispered, before turning around to leave, "Just get to Roger's office! He's ticked off as it is, so try not to take all day, Near! We don't have time enough to spare to sit around and wait on you! But if I know you, you'll now take twice as long!" He stalked out of the room, leaving Near behind, leaving without another word.

Glancing down at his puzzle, the white haired boy figured that he would have enough time to waste, just enough time to put his favorite puzzle back together, just one last time.


End file.
